Java Programming In South Africa

Java is a computer programming language that allows computer programmers to write sets of program instructions using the English language as opposed to having to use numeric codes. It is termed a ‘high-level’ computer language because humans – and not just computers – can read it and write it easily. Just like with the language of English, there are rules which determine how instructions must be written. And, again, not unlike in English, these rules and instructions are called ‘syntax’. Once written, the codes and instructions are converted (or translated) into numeric codes which computers are able to understand and then execute.

Who Invited Java?

Java was created in the early 1990s by a team at Sun Microsystems, led by James Gosling. Its original design was for use on mobile digital devices like mobile telephones. But, by the time Java 1.0 was publicly released in 1996, its focus had seen a shift to use on the Internet. It was a way for developers to provide greater interactivity with users of the Internet by being used to create animated website pages. It has evolved over the years to become a computer language that is successfully utilised both on the internet and in other applications. It is estimated that in excess of 6.5 million developers make use of Java globally.

Why Choose Java?

When it was designed, Java had a few key principles which remain today and make it the computer language of choice for many individuals who have Java developer jobs. Here are some of the principles that make it so popular:

Easy to Use

Java was built on the back of the C++ program language. Whilst C++ is a powerful computer language, it is technical and complex and difficult to understand. Java improved on C++, making its syntax simpler to grasp, while retaining C++’s powerful capabilities.

Reliability

Java sought to reduce the chance of ‘fatal’ errors being made by programmers and so developed ‘Object-oriented Programming’ (which means it packaged data and its manipulation thereof in a single place) and, in so doing, Java’s robustness was increased.

Secure

Java is considered the most secure computer programming language given that it was written to exchange data between mobile devices over secure networks.

Platform-independent

Computer programs need to work across different operating systems but not all of them do. Java was written as a portable system and so it works across all types of hardware and operating systems.